Ch: 2 The Debt That Bound Them.

​Nerissa’s POV

​"Have you seen the morning headlines, Lysander, or were you too busy enjoying the 'undeniable chemistry' the press is raving about to care that your wife is being dragged through the mud by every gossip blog in the city?" Xander asked while he slammed a business magazine onto the breakfast table, staring directly at his son. I kept my eyes fixed on my coffee cup, trying to ignore the glossy cover where Lysander and Seraphina were pictured laughing together at a corporate gala.

​"The press writes what sells magazines, Father, and if they find Seraphina more interesting than a woman who barely speaks two words at dinner, that isn't my problem," Lysander replied while he casually buttered a piece of toast, his voice completely calm.

​"It becomes your problem when it makes this family look like a circus, and Malia and I didn't raise you to treat your wife like a placeholder while you parade an old flame around town," Xander snapped back, but before he could continue, Talia dropped her fork onto her plate with a loud clatter.

​"Oh, stop acting like Lysander is the villain here, Dad, because we all know the only reason he’s in this miserable marriage is because Nerissa backed him into a corner five years ago," Talia said, shooting me a look of pure loathing. "She saw our family was going under and she used her little 'favor' to demand a wedding ring as repayment, so why should he have to act like he loves a woman who basically bought him?"

​"Talia, watch your tongue in this house," Malia warned, her voice tight as she glanced between us.

​"Why should I, Mother? Everyone is thinking it, and she just sits there playing the victim while our name is ridiculed," Talia scoffed, crossing her arms.

​I gripped my napkin under the table, my nails digging into my palms as the familiar sting of her words hit home, but I didn't defend myself because explaining the truth felt like shouting into a void. They thought I used a modest inheritance to trap him, but the reality was that I orchestrated a silent bailout through Vane Holdings to keep the Blackwood name from disappearing, and I hadn't demanded the marriage for power, I simply hoped that five years of being his shadow would make him see me.

​"Talia is right, Father, so let's stop pretending this was some grand romance that I’m suddenly ruining," Lysander added while he stood up, his eyes flickering toward me. "I paid my debt by giving her my name and a roof over her head, but I never promised her my heart, and I certainly didn't promise to hide the fact that I’m finally happy again now that Seraphina is back."

​"You are a married man, Lysander, and your actions have consequences for Blackwood Industries," Xander shouted, slamming his hand down.

​"Then fire me, Father, but don't tell me who to spend my evenings with," Lysander deadpanned, pushing his chair back.

​Malia reached over to touch my arm, her eyes full of pity. "Nerissa, dear, don't listen to them, they don't understand how much you've done for this house."

​"I think I've heard enough for one morning, so if you'll excuse me, I have some things to attend to upstairs," I said quietly, interrupting her, and I walked out of the room without looking back.

​The rest of the day passed in a blur of silence until the front door slammed late that evening, and I heard the heavy, stumbling footsteps of Lysander coming up the stairs. He pushed into our bedroom with his tie hanging loose around his neck, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at me.

​"Are you still awake, or are you just waiting here to see if I’ll finally say something nice to you so you can report back to my father?" he slurred while he walked toward the bed.

​"I wasn't waiting for a report, Lysander, I was just going to sleep," I answered, but before I could move, he reached out and pulled me toward him, his grip tight and desperate. He kissed me with a kind of hunger that felt more like anger, and I let myself get lost in it because even a hollow intimacy was better than the cold silence he usually gave me.

​We moved together in a way that was passionate but completely empty of warmth, and when it was over, he rolled away immediately and reached into the drawer of his nightstand. He pulled out a small emergency contraceptive pill, placing it on my side of the table with a sharp click.

​"Take it now, I don't want to wake up tomorrow and find out you've tried to turn tonight into a permanent mistake," he muttered, his back turned to me as he pulled the covers up.

​I sat up slowly, my heart aching. "Lysander, did you ever once imagine a future with me? Even at the very beginning, was there ever a moment where you thought we could actually make this work?"

​He was silent for so long I thought he had fallen asleep, but then his voice came through the dark, flat and crushing. "No."

​"Then why did you stay for five years?" I whispered, my voice cracking in the dark room.

​"Because of the contract, Nerissa, but even contracts have an expiration date," he answered coldly.

​I didn't cry, I just stared at the little white pill on the nightstand until the sun started to peek through the curtains the next morning. Lysander was already in the shower when I finally stood up, walking over to the bathroom trash can, and I let the pill fall into the bin, burying it under some crumpled tissues so he would never find it. It was the first time in five years that I hadn't done exactly what he told me to do, and I knew that everything was about to change because the wife who obeyed every command died the moment he told me I had no place in his future.